Perfecting Imperfection
by Claudia Jily
Summary: Her life was perfect; she had the perfect friends, the perfect job and the perfect boyfriend. In her world, there was no room for imperfection. Yet, when one James Potter steps into her life, smirking arrogantly and throwing her cheeky grins, she soon finds her picture perfect world in ruins. Oh, how she pretends to hate him. Wait…what?
1. One-year Anniversary

**Perfecting Imperfection**

**One-year Anniversary**

**Disclaimer ****– **As usual, it's all J.K Rowling's; I'm just another person who wishes to be as great as her. I got the idea for this story from an Indian movie I watched once. I just _had _to mold it into a James/Lily fanfic. I hope you guys like it.

**_Some Things You Need To Know Before Reading_**___._

_1. This is an Alternate Universe fanfic._

_2. Voldemort does not exist in the story at all._

_____3. It is rated M for language and for content in later chapters_

_4. James Potter can be quite a jerk at times (but I still love him)._

* * *

As the first rays of the sun appeared over the horizon, melting away the snow that had accumulated during winter, Lily Evans stirred beneath her duvet. Her thick mass of red hair was splayed across the immaculate white pillows, the colors providing a stark contrast. Gently pushing away the covers, she used one hand to blearily rub her eyes, stifling a yawn in the process.

Once the sleep had been successfully wiped off, Lily opened her eyes and looked around at her room. Slowly, a smile spread across her features as she realized that this was her one-year anniversary with the best boyfriend in the world. Grinning eagerly, Lily slipped her feet into her blue bunny slippers, as was routine, and padded towards her wardrobe.

Picking out a light blue summer dress, she entered the shower with the smile still etched across her face.

Making sure to save enough hot water for her apartment buddies and best friends, Dorcas Meadows and Marlene McKinnon, Lily lathered her hair with the lavender shampoo, which her boyfriend, on more than one occasion, had mentioned made her 'even more of a flower'.

A few months ago, when the trio had bought the flat, it had come as no surprise to her friends when Lily had insisted to get her room painted the _perfect _shade of blue, for that was her boyfriend's favorite color; blue. And over the course of one year that she had been with Luke Jones, Lily had come to love everything that he did. So much so, in fact, she hardly remembered – _or cared about – _what her favorites were.

Oh, but she did not mind, for Lily Evans had a perfect life.

She had the perfect friends, who she knew would do anything for her, the perfect job of a journalist at the Daily Prophet, and, of course, the perfect boyfriend. In her world, there was no room for imperfection. She loved the way things were, and how they had been for the past year. There were no problems or difficulties or sudden changes in her life. She was the proud subject of her friends' envious rants.

In fact, everything in her life was carefully predicted and planned out.

Therefore, when Lily's green eyes, which Luke always said reminded him of emeralds, fell upon the clock beside her bed after her perfectly timed shower, she knew that any moment now, Marlene would be outside her room, knocking on the door and saying–

"Lily, breakfast please!"

Ah, there it was, Lily thought, smiling to herself.

Drying her hair magically, she rolled it up into a lose bun before using her wand as a hair stick. With a few lose strands framing her heart-shaped face, Lily made her way over to the door before wrenching it open to find a groggy-eyed brunette blinking back at her. "'Morning, Lily," she yawned, rubbing her amber eyes sleepily.

"'Morning, Marlene." Lily greeted back, mussing up her friend's hair, laughing merrily when she grumbled in protest. Marlene worked as an assistant for the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement . Oh, if only her boss could see her now, Lily thought, snickering inwardly. "Any special requests?" she asked.

"Nah, the usual. It's _your_ special day; wouldn't want to keep the boyfriend waiting." Marlene answered, rummaging through some of Lily's clothes, as usual, to find her outfit for the day. "He would have my head if I kept you all to myself on your anniversary." Marlene yawned again. "Merlin, Lily, more than half of your outfits are blue!"

"I happen to like blue," Lily defended, blushing lightly.

"More like your bloody boyfriend does."

"Besides, Luke wouldn't do that, Marls," Lily said, ignoring Marlene's comment all together. "He's perfect." She waved, walking out of the room.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, hun," she heard Marlene's off-handed reply, clearly able to imagine her rolling her eyes as she said so. Lily sighed, shaking her head fondly as she made her way into the kitchen. This was the routine every day; Marlene would ask Lily to make breakfast, which she did obligingly as her friends had horrendous cooking skills, and Lily had had too much past experience to argue otherwise, and then the three friends would leave for their respective jobs.

Except, today was the week-end, which meant Dorcas would be sitting in front of the kitchen counter, still in her pajamas.

"Hi, Lily," the blue-eyed girl greeted her when she entered the kitchen. Dorcas Meadows was taller than either of her friends, with shoulder-length black hair and a friendly face. Lily always felt that Dorcas was the quietest and the most level-headed amongst the three, rightfully deserving her job as a healer. "When's Luke coming?"

"Sometime around noon, I imagine." Lily replied, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. She shuffled towards the refrigerator, poking her head in and inspecting the contents. "We've run out of eggs, Dorcas." Lily frowned. That was not supposed to happen. "I was going to make pancakes."

"Its fine, Lily. Just make something else. How about sandwiches? Even I can help you with them, then." Dorcas suggested, getting up from her stool. Her friend knew all too well how fussy Lily could get when things were not going according to plan.

Lily nodded hesitantly, and together, the pair quickly managed to produce a stack of ham and cheese sandwiches within minutes. As the smell wafted around the house, Lily and Dorcas heard someone's stomach grumbling. Loudly.

"Merlin, guys, are those ham sandwiches?" Marlene's head poked into the room, her eyes widening at the sight of food. She was wearing Lily's red halter-top and jeans, and Lily was of the opinion that her friend was a second away from drooling over her clothes.

"Yes, Marls, these are ham sandwiches. Now stop standing there with dazed eyes, and just come and eat." Dorcas answered exasperatedly, pulling out a chair for herself as well. Needing no further invitation, Marlene all but dashed across the room to stuff her face with food, Lily joining her friends with an amused expression on her face.

It was only a few hours later that the doorbell sounded across the hall. Lily shot up from her position on the sofa immediately with a beaming face, and ignoring the teasing from her friends, quickly made her way towards the door. Checking her reflection on a vase nervously, she pulled out the wand from her hair before stuffing it down her dress. After a deep, calming breath, Lily opened the door and found her boyfriend smiling at her.

Luke Jones was absolutely gorgeous.

He had kind, grey eyes, and short, blonde hair. With his well-maintained physique and intelligent features, it had not taken long for Lily to melt. In fact, they had had the perfect first meeting and the perfect first date, for Luke was Lily's senior at the Daily prophet. The pair had slowly gotten closer during Lily's first few months at the job, and Luke had finally asked her out with a perfect bouquet lilies. She would have been crazy to say no.

"Hey, Lily, you look amazing, babe." Luke greeted with a warm smile, leaning closer to place a _perfect _kiss on her lips. These terms of endearment for her was a new thing that Luke had come up with. And try as she might, Lily couldn't exactly say that it was the – uh, _flourish – _on her perfect life. She had never really been fond of pet names.

But she didn't want to disappoint Luke, and a few adjustments for the perfect boyfriend she was ready to make. So Lily grinned back brightly, her spirits lifting even more as she noticed the bouquet in his hands.

"Hey, Luke, are those for me?"

"Of course," he answered, handing the lilies over. He never forgot them. Ever. On each and every single one of their dates, Luke would be sure to bring her a bouquet of lilies and they would both be dressed in blue. Her friends found it nauseating, but Lily thought it was perfect. In fact, she was convinced that they made the perfect pair, what with their non-existent arguments, always matching opinions, and hell, even their names starting with the same alphabet. Luke and Lily; it sounded nice, she thought.

"Happy anniversary," she said, pecking his lips again.

"Happy anniversary." He returned with a bright grin. Luke was always gentle with her; never looking bored when she talked continuously, or never becoming impatient with some of her – Lily admitted – irritating quirks. It was true; there _was _a lack of input from his side during conversations, but Lily only found it sweet that he always let her do the talking.

"Ah! The boyfriend is here," Marlene's voice carried to her ears, and Lily turned around to find her friend smirking at her. Rolling her gentle blue eyes at Marlene, Dorcas came into view as well. "Hello, Luke." She smiled politely.

"Hello, Dorcas. Marlene." Luke nodded in greeting.

"Put these in the vase beside my bed, would you, Dorcas?" Lily asked, handing over the flowers to her friend before slipping her hand into her boyfriend's. His hands were perfect too, just like the rest of him; smooth and generally nice. After waving a goodbye to her friends, Lily and Luke left the apartment together.

Without having to discuss, the pair made their way towards The Grill for lunch, which was the posh restaurant they had shared all their dates in, including their first one. It was special for both of them.

As they entered, the hostess smiled charmingly at them, pleased to see her regular customers, and directed them over to the table near the window like always. Everything was going as planned, Lily reflected happily. This would be a perfect date.

"So, Luke, do you know anything about this new assignment that Gary is going to give me?" Lily asked over her glass of wine. Gary Wakefield was the Editor in Chief of The Daily Prophet and the head of the department.

"I'm not allowed to tell you really," Luke looked apologetic and Lily sighed inwardly. If there was one thing Luke Jones loved, it was following the rules. Still, Lily could not deny that it was a trait she found admirable. Most of the time. "But, I _can _tell you that one Ms. Lily Evans has a spectacular chance of promotion if this assignment is successful." He grinned.

Lily's fork fell on her plate with a soft clatter, her green eyes widening considerably in size. "You're serious?" she breathed disbelievingly. At her boyfriend's nod, a huge grin spread across her face and she let out a peal of laughter. "Oh my god, Luke, I've waited so long for this."

"I know, Lily. I'm sure you'll do great."

"Thanks, I just hope I don't disappoint Gary; I know how strict he is about journalism. I'll have to make sure I get to the news before anyone else does." Lily said to herself determinedly.

"Well, it's not really 'news' per se." Luke revealed slowly. Lily's eyes immediately snapped to his grey ones, pleading for more information. But he simply shrugged. "You'll have to wait and see, I'm afraid." He said.

Oh, but Lily Evans was not used to such notions. This was not planned out, and she did not like it at all.

"Alright, I guess." She relented glumly. "So, what are the plans for tonight?" Lily asked, although she had a good idea of what it would be. They'd probably watch a romantic movie first, then return to The Grill for dinner and dessert before Luke would take Lily back to his apartment for the night. Only, sometimes she wished he wasn't so polite about it, because it made things feel awkward rather than casual, what with both of them blushing the entire way.

Yet, Lily found that Luke looked quite endearing when he blushed.

"Um, yeah, about that," His voice broke Lily out of her musings. She frowned when she noticed his hesitancy. "Listen, babe, I'm really sorry about this, but I have to report to Gary this evening for work. You know that case with the Unspeakable I was doing? Yeah, he wants the report by tonight. So we'll have to cut our plans short."

"Oh," Lily replied, unable to keep the distress out of her voice. The surprising part was, she was not even that disappointed to be separated from Luke. No, it was more of the fact that everything was going so wrong. Where had her perfectly planned date gone? "That's fine. I understand." She added, seeing the look on Luke's face.

"Are you sure, honey? I feel really guilty about this."

"No, honestly, it's fine." Lily persisted with a forced smile. "I'll just – go watch a movie with Marlene and Dorcas." She added. That seemed to satisfy her boyfriend, for Luke went back to his lunch, occasionally looking up to smile or to give her a compliment as usual.

Soon, lunch was over and Luke paid the check before helping Lily out of her chair. Hand in hand, the couple made their way back to Lily's apartment and stood, facing each other. While Luke was grinning brightly, some of the excitement from earlier that morning had been drained out of Lily. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she asked finally.

"Yes, of course." Luke replied, bending down to kiss her. As their lips connected, Lily found herself smiling against him. His kisses were always so gentle and soft, almost like he was afraid of breaking her. True, she was not some fragile little doll, but Lily thought that this only added to Luke's perfection, for it showed just how much he cared about her.

Finally, the two pulled apart and smiled at each other. As Luke stepped back and waved goodbye, Lily sighed inwardly, remembering that her day was not going according to plan at all. Still, she wouldn't let it dampen her spirits, Lily decided as she entered the apartment. Perhaps the evening with her friends would go according to plan.

Oh, she couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**AN – **Yay, I'm back with another Jily fanfic as promised. Okay, first things first – let's get one thing very clear here; I feel like _puking _every time I write the word 'perfect'. Moreover, such perfection nauseates me so much that I just can't wait to bring James into the story. But, well, it's not my life, its Lily's. I know everyone must hate the fact that Lily has a boyfriend that's not James – I know I do. But patience is virtue, lads. Oh and one more thing; don't hate Lily because she loves the way Luke is. If you've noticed, she convinces herself that every single one of his bad traits appertains to something good. So all hope is not lost.

Tell me how you're liking it so far, and leave lots of reviews for me. Let me know your opinions, criticism, or anything absolutely random. I'll appreciate everything. Lots and lots of love.

Claudia.


	2. Movie Night

**Perfecting Imperfection**

**Movie Night**

**Disclaimer ****– **Sadly, the only thing that belongs to me are the characters you don't recognize and the plot. Everything else is Queen Rowling's!

* * *

"You know, Lily, just because you told Luke doesn't mean we _have _to watch a movie." Dorcas said, checking her reflection in the mirror in Lily's room. She wore a pair of ripped dark jeans and a black tube top, her long black hair pulled into a pony-tail. With a final touch of lip-gloss, she turned around to face her friend who herself was busy getting ready. "I don't want you to feel all gloomy and sad for the evening. Because if the movie turns out to be good, _I _am not going to care if you wanna fawn over it or not, hun. You'll have to listen to me talk all night with active participation. No fake smiles."

"Don't worry, Dorcas, there are no fake smiles." Lily answered, turning around to flash a grin at her friend to prove her point. With her red hair cascading down her back and the blue A-line dress accentuating her figure, Lily figured she could not have been looking _that _much of a party-pooper. Apparently, Dorcas seemed to think so too, for she smiled jubilantly in appreciation.

"Besides, it's not as if I am going to the movie only because I told Luke so, even though that _was _the initial reason. I just realized that it had been quite some time since I went out with you guys. We deserve a girl's night out." Lily reasoned as she stuffed her wand and some muggle money into her purse.

"Of course we do." Dorcas agreed.

"Now, what's taking Marls so long? She was supposed to be here ages ago!" Lily wondered, regarding her wristwatch and impatiently glancing at the door. It was true that she had been rather let down after what was supposed to be her perfect date with Luke. Nevertheless, after a few hours, Lily had finally convinced herself that she was reading into this too much. It was just one night.

Well, yes, it _was _the night of their one-year anniversary, but Luke was sorry and everything would return back to normal by next morning. And anyway, it was not in Lily's nature to keep grudges; they made life so much more complicated. Besides, it was not as if Luke could help it really – it was, after all, mainly Gary's fault, and Merlin knew she couldn't afford to keep a grudge with her _boss_.

So, really, she was quite looking forward to this movie night with her friends.

Now, if only Marlene would arrive on time…

The silence in the room was broken with a sudden sound as the telephone across the hall rang loudly. Being a muggle-born, Lily had insisted that they _must _have a telephone when they bought the flat. And despite all of her friends' eye-rolling and deadpanning, as time passed, no one in the apartment could argue that this telephone hadn't saved their arses on more than one occasion.

"I'll get it," Dorcas said with a wave of her hand as she left the room to answer the phone.

Once the room was empty, Lily plopped down on her bed with a sigh. What was taking Marlene so long? She wondered yet again. For a moment, Lily even contemplated the possibility that she had gone to drag Luke out of the Ministry of Magic for her, but quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. There was _no _way she would do that.

Sure, her friend could get quite over-protective of her, not to mention absolutely crazy sometimes, _and – _though Lily did not know why – Marlene was never really fond of Luke. According to her, he was '_way _too perfect in the character sense' and Lily was 'not herself around him'. Lily never really knew how to reply to that except just roll her eyes and try to convince her friend that perfection wasn't so bad. But obviously, Marlene McKinnon would be damned if she actually gave in.

However, despite all that, Lily knew that Marlene wouldn't actually go and threaten Luke to go on a date with Lily, even though she knew her friend was more than capable of doing so.

And it saddened Lily a little to know that the reason for that was solely because Marlene was against Lily and Luke dating.

She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as she heard Dorcas put down the receiver and enter the room again. Lily raised an inquisitive eyebrow when she noticed her friend frowning with an exasperated expression on her face. "Who was it?" Lily asked.

"Marlene. She can't join us tonight." She replied.

"What?! Why not?" Lily jumped up from her bed. There was no way her plan was going to waste _again_.

"Why do you think?" Dorcas said with an obvious tone.

"Found some hot guy? Going on a date?" Lily guessed in a small voice, knowing the answer without Dorcas having to reply. Still, she felt herself sighing dejectedly when she got an affirmative nod in response.

"So, what now? The evening just goes to waste?" She asked, feeling extremely frustrated that the day had turned out to be such a disaster.

"Of course not!" Dorcas exclaimed firmly with a shake of her head. "Marlene's having fun, so should we. And anyway, do I not count, Lily? We'll watch a movie _and_ have a cheesy hamburger for dinner. Oh, aren't they going to wish they hadn't ditched you." She laughed, walking over and looping her arm through Lily's.

"You're right. We can have fun. We _will _have fun." Lily agreed, trying to encourage herself with her own words. Throwing a grateful grin at her friend, she grabbed her purse from where it was lying on the bed, and after collecting the spare key, the pair exited the apartment together.

* * *

"Good evening, miss, how can I help you?" The woman behind the counter asked pleasantly.

"Er, could you maybe tell me what shows are going on right now?" Lily asked politely. As soon as they had arrived, Dorcas had pushed her forward to buy the tickets for them. Growing up as a wizard and not having much muggle experience, Dorcas had thought it better to let Lily handle these things, even though the green-eyed girl insisted that buying tickets was really not that big of a deal and barely required any 'muggle experience'.

However, Lily had put her foot down when Dorcas added that she should go and buy the popcorn as well, and after a lot of persuasion, she finally managed to send her friend to the food counter while she bought the tickets for the movie.

"Yeah, sure. Just hold on a second…" the woman answered before rapidly typing something on the computer before her. "All right, so there are quite some movies playing right now. I think you'll be interested in something romantic, perhaps. 'Love's First Kiss' maybe?" she asked with a grin.

"Not really," Lily answered slowly. It was something to watch romantic movies with her boyfriend and cry during emotional scenes, but otherwise, Lily Evans was just not that sort of a person. This did not mean, however, that she hated watching sappy movies with Luke, of course. He always held her hand during the sweet parts and acted in that perfect way of his that she just could not help but find adorable.

But despite all that, Lily _really _wasn't in the mood to think about Luke and be reminded of her completely off-the-track day. So romantic movies and thoughts about boyfriends were a firm no-no, she told herself.

Besides, it had been ages since she had watched something a bit more spicy and exciting. Something that had more…

"Action," Lily replied to the curious woman behind the counter, whose eyebrows rose significantly at her answer. "What are some action movies going on?"

"Action – uh, well," The woman shook off her surprise quickly before glancing down at the list of movies again. "There's the, uh, 'City on Fire' playing in theater one in five minutes, or the 'Day of the Assassin' in theater two in fifteen."

"Right, er–" Lily glanced behind her to find Dorcas grinning widely and waving from her spot near the food counter. She shook her head fondly with a smile when she noticed the tray of popcorn boxes and coke cups that Dorcas was carrying. "–I think I'll just take two tickets for 'City on Fire', please." Lily turned back to the woman, figuring that since Dorcas was done, they might as well just watch the movie right then.

With a nod of her head, the woman handed two tickets to Lily as per requested and moved on to the next person in line with another, 'Good evening, how can I help you?'

"Lily!" Dorcas smiled gleefully when she reached the food counter. "I did it! It was actually really easy. I don't know why I had always been so worried about talking to muggle shopkeepers. The old man didn't suspect for a second that I was a witch. How cool is that?" she continued in a whisper, for which Lily was glad, since the old man in question was just a few feet away serving another customer.

"I told you, didn't I? All you had to do was go and ask for food. I don't know _why _you would have ever thought that doing something as small as that would give away your identity as a witch." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you were right. Now, what movie are we watching?"

"City on Fire." She replied with an excited gleam in her eyes.

"I've seen the posters. Feeling a bit daring tonight, Lily? I think the last time you watched an action movie was during the last summer holidays at Hogwarts." Dorcas smirked.

"And that's exactly why I figured it's about time I watched another one. C'mon let's go, or we'll miss the show, Dorcas." She answered before guiding Dorcas over to theater one. Just as the lights dimmed, the duo quickly made their way to their seats near the back row and settled down with their popcorn boxes and drinks in hand.

"This should be fun," Lily whispered excitedly, feeling glad that things were finally starting to look up again. As soon as the advertisements started playing on the screen, she began munching on her popcorn.

Within a few minutes into the movie, Lily found herself completely immersed into the plot, her popcorn reducing in amount rapidly as she continued to chew on them without a break. However, just as things were – according to Lily – getting to the good part, she heard it. Voices.

Loud and _obnoxious _voices.

"Oh Mer-_God_, I can't believe you brought – Rebecca was her name? – to watch bloody _'City on Fire'_ just so she would leave you alone. Mastermind, Pads!" One of the silhouettes in the dark spoke up. With an irritated tsk, Lily tore her eyes away from the screen to glare at the outlines of the two men who had just walked in from the other end of the aisle and were laughing quite rambunctiously from beside her.

"Oh, but she was such a ditz, mate. I swear she couldn't tell a book from a potted plant. Pity she was a great kisser though." The second man said, and the two fell into new bouts of laughter. Lily and Dorcas, along with the entire row of people sitting in front of them glared at the pair. However, much to Lily's annoyance, they simply ignored it.

"Losers," Lily scoffed disgustedly before focusing all her attention back to the movie, trying to ignore the men to the best of her ability.

"Hey, Lily, I'll be right back. I just need to use the loo." Dorcas whispered in her ear a few minutes later.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Lily asked, setting down her now empty box of popcorn as Dorcas rose from her seat.

"Oh no, it's fine. I can tell you want to watch the film," Dorcas chuckled silently before leaving with a wave of her hand. Shrugging casually, Lily turned back to the movie in rapture, occasionally taking a sip of coke out of her straw. She barely stopped herself from lashing out as the two men from beside her started cracking up on some joke yet again.

Honestly, why can't they just let me watch the movie in peace? Lily thought scathingly as she glared at their barely visible figures for the umpteenth time.

All too soon, the 'interval' sign flashed on the screen and the lights in the theater were turned on. With a sigh, Lily shook her empty cup and continued sipping until she was sure the last drop of soda had been drained. Great, she realized dejectedly, now I don't have anything to eat for the second half.

"Hey, Prongs, I'm gonna go get some popcorn. You want something?" she heard one of the men ask.

"Nah, not really. Or on second thoughts, I wouldn't mind some soda. Thanks, Sirius."

Lily froze.

Sirius? _Sirius Black!? _From _Hogwarts? _In a muggle _movie theater? _And who was this guy with him?

Curiosity getting the better of her, Lily slowly turned her head to the left to see a mop of messy black hair. This person – and she had a _very _good idea about who he was – was shaking his head fondly at the retreating figure of Sirius Black – it _was _him! – as he strutted out of the theater. Lily was quite surprised to discover that she was _not _very surprised to find _him _in Sirius's company.

They did, after all, always hang out together in Hogwarts. Joined at the hip; everyone knew that.

However, what did surprise her – more than a little bit actually – was when he waved at a blonde girl sitting a few rows ahead and raised his hand to ruffle his hair; his hair which was incidentally right in front of her face. So really, the swat that she got on her nose from his hand was inevitable.

And downright _painful._

"OW!" Lily yelped, clutching her nose and nursing it. She felt tears of pain forming at the corner of her eyes, feeling more than a little hostile towards the stupid _git _sitting beside her. "My nose! What is _wrong _with you?"

"I'm so terribly sorry. I-I didn't know you were – oh, bugger. I just – hey wait, I think I've seen you somewhere." He suddenly said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at her. "Do you mind lowering your hand? I _really _think I've–"

"–Well, of course you've seen me, _Potter. _I'm Lily Evans. Hogwarts, remember?" She glared at him fiercely, finally taking her hands off her nose.

"Oh yeah, I remember you," he said ever so brightly, his hazel eyes widening in realization. "Lily Evans, nerd resident of Gryffindor." He barked out a laugh, finding his own comment amusing. Lily on the other hand, frowned at him, clearly not pleased. Merlin, she had been _really _hoping that he wasn't the same douche-bag he used to be at Hogwarts. Wishful thinking on my part, Lily sighed inwardly.

"Funny I never noticed before – Merlin knows I must've been blind not to actually – but you're really beautiful, Lily." James suddenly propelled himself forward in his seat, compelling Lily to instinctually move back. He smirked. "How about we start this over? James Potter, Chaser for the Puddlemere United, though I'm sure you already know that, don't you?' He asked, holding out one hand for her to shake and running the other through his hair.

Oh, Bloody hell, where _was _Dorcas?

She eyed his hand with a look of pure dislike. But of _course _she knew that he played as a chaser for the Puddlemere United; _everyone _in the wizarding world knew that, and her being a journalist did not really leave room for any sort of ignorance. But Lily despised the fact that James Potter _knew _that she knew, and was _showing-off _like an immature idiot.

She should have expected that, however, if his days at Hogwarts were anything to go by. True, Lily had never really spent _time _with him or get to know him per say, but she had heard and seen enough to know one thing; James Potter was trouble. There was no _way _she was going to let him ruin her perfectly planned out life.

And if he thought that she was going to fall at his feet like his numerous tittering fan girls, well, Mr. Potter had another thing coming for him.

"How about we _don't _start over, yeah? I'm really not interested. Besides, your idiotic flirting skills are going to waste, Potter; I already have a boyfriend." Lily shot back, still miffed about her stinging nose.

"Mhm, so?" James shrugged, not even bothering to deny her accusations of his advances on her. His smirk only grew wider when he noticed her appalled expression.

"_So?_ What do you mean 'so?' Potter, if I have a boyfriend, it means I'm not available and you can't–"

"–Of course I can. Where does it say that you can't flirt with someone who has a boyfriend?" He asked brashly. "Besides, I'm sure you can't be that in love with this boyfriend of yours if you're here, watching an action movie without him in sight."

Lily quickly snapped her mouth shut. As much as she wanted to prove the arrogant git wrong, she knew he was right about one thing; she was not _in love _with Luke. She had broached this topic on more than one occasion with herself, always arriving on the same conclusion; she had yet to fall in love with Luke Jones. But Lily knew it was only a matter of time before it happened, and she never really let it get to her. Her life was as perfect as it could get, and she definitely _liked _Luke to a great extent if nothing else. It was nothing to fret over.

But she was letting James Potter get to her. She knew it, and she absolutely hated it.

"I think I can go and watch a movie with my _friends _if I want to, yeah? And for your information, I am perfectly happy with my boyfriend. Just because he isn't here with me doesn't mean – wait, why am I even telling you all this? My personal life isn't any of your business. So you can just leave me the hell alone." Lily spat, glaring furiously.

"Well, you don't really look all sunshine and daisies to me, Evans. Touchy on the subject it seems. Did Mr. Perfect Boyfriend do something?" James continued shamelessly, all but ignoring her scathing remarks.

"Why, you–"

"Lily? What's going on?" she heard the _merciful _voice of Dorcas ask from beside her. Whirling around in her seat, Lily regarded her friend with something akin to an accusing glare.

"What took you so long?"

"I just ran into Hestia Jones in the loo. She's here with her boyfriend to watch, 'Love's First Kiss'." Dorcas replied, glancing at Lily uneasily. Oh Merlin, was absolutely _everyone _here tonight? Lily thought inwardly. "But is everything okay, Lils? Why are you – Holy Hippogriffs! _James Potter!?_" Dorcas exclaimed in shock, regarding the Quidditch player with a stunned expression. She threw an unconvincing smile at the old muggle men staring at her oddly from the front row. Fortunately, they turned back a second later with mutterings about 'generation gap'.

"Wotcher! Dorcas Meadows right?" James waved with a grin.

"I – erm, yes. Hello." She answered with a stutter, trying to wrap her head around everything that was going on. Her anxiousness, however, turned into concern once again as she looked at Lily's flaring nostrils. "All right, Lily, tell me what's the prob – hey, where are you going?" Dorcas asked, frowning in confusion as Lily suddenly jumped up from her seat.

"We're leaving." The red-head replied sharply, throwing a just-don't-argue-with-me-right-now look at Dorcas. She was _sick_ of James Potter and his stupid, arrogant smirk already. There was absolutely _no way_ in hell that she could survive the second half of the movie with him sitting beside her. She was afraid she would either commit murder or suicide by then.

Lily just _had _to get out of there; 'City on Fire' be damned!

"What? Why? And what about the movie? Lily, what's wrong?" Dorcas asked worriedly.

"Nothing. Can we please just leave, Dorcas?" Lily pleaded desperately.

"Oh come on, you can't just go now." James spoke up from beside them. Lily glared at the roguish look in his eyes. Immature prat. "At least stay till the movie finishes."

"_No._" Lily replied firmly, shocking Dorcas with her angry tone. The person at whom she directed it, however, Dorcas noticed, looked absolutely unfazed. In fact, she realized with a jolt, he looked quite _amused. _Oh dear. "We will _not _be staying in your company a second longer, thank you very much. Let's go, Dorcas."

Then, before she had the time to question her friend any longer or find out what in the name of Merlin was going _on, _Lily had grabbed Dorcas by the hand and was all but dragging her out of the theater. And in her blind rage, she led the both of them smack into someone carrying food, showering all of them with popcorn and soda.

"Oh, you've got to be _kidding _me!" Lily heard the very familiar – and _very _unwelcome – voice of Sirius Black groan. "Now I have to go and get it all _again?_ What were you – _Evans?_" He suddenly stopped speaking, his eyes growing as large as saucers. "Meadows? What-what are you doing here?"

"Came to watch the movie, of course." Dorcas replied.

"But now we are _leaving._" Lily put in firmly, grimacing at the soda stain on her blue dress and brushing off popcorn pieces from her hair. The evening had turned out to absolutely _spiffing! _"Sorry for the damage, Black, but the movie is about to start again, and we wouldn't want you to miss out on anything."

"Okay, but I really don't understand what–"

"Ask your buffoon of a friend sitting there and laughing!" Lily bit out in her anger. Sirius, along with Dorcas, immediately found themselves looking towards James, who was indeed, sitting and laughing his head off. Sirius smirked.

"Well, Evans, you must admit, you _do _look a bit funny." He supplied not very helpfully.

With an angry growl, Lily shoved her way past Sirius, pulling Dorcas along with her, barely acknowledging her friend's attempts at calming her. Oh _why _had she planned on coming here? _Why _didn't she just go watch sodding, 'Day of the Assassin'? _Why _did she have to get the seats right beside those idiots? _Why _didn't she just stay home?

As the pair exited the theater, Lily immediately pulled Dorcas beside the building, and after making sure no one was watching, pulled out her wand. Understanding her friend, Dorcas followed suit with a sigh, and together, they apparated from there within seconds.

As soon as they stepped into the apartment, Lily wordlessly made her way into her room and into the bathroom. Dorcas let her, realizing that her friend needed some time to brood. After all, it was not a very well-hidden fact that Lily Evans hated it when things were not according to plan. And whatever happened tonight, well, Dorcas knew it was anything but _in _the plan.

After quite a few minutes, Lily entered the living room in fresh pajamas, looking drained and gloomy. "You okay?" Dorcas asked cautiously, knowing now was not the time to bombard her with questions which – admittedly – she was dying to ask.

"I'll survive," was the evasive reply. "Marls is not back yet, is she?"

"Nope. No stench of alcohol yet." Dorcas answered. She was proud to notice that it got Lily to crack a small smile.

"I think I'll just head to bed, okay? Long day." She snorted derisively. Dorcas nodded her head understandingly, watching as Lily turned around left for her room. Once she heard the bedroom door close softly, Dorcas found herself smiling slightly and shaking her head.

Merlin, this James Potter was bringing back fiery Lily from Hogwarts.

The problem was, Lily was not ready for that. Not ready for that _at all._

* * *

**To be continued…**

**AN – **I know, long time, no see. I'm sorry yet again. Though it seems that's what happens every time. Meh, it can't be helped; life gets in the way. Sigh. For all the readers who don't know; I've put up the link to my tumblr account on my profile page. Take a look and leave any questions you want; update times or stories or whatever. Anything will be appreciated. Now, tell me how you're finding the story so far. Finally brought in James – can't really keep him away for long; my weak point. Leaves tons of reviews please, thanks. Love you guys.

Claudia.


	3. Not Again

**Perfecting Imperfection**

**Not Again**

**Disclaimer ****– **Sadly, the only thing that belongs to me are the characters you don't recognize and the plot. Everything else is Queen Rowling's!

* * *

James Potter was, first and foremost, a Casanova.

And a proud one at that.

None of that sweet, perfect, one-woman man rubbish for him. No siree. He had no intentions_—_not a drop of it, thank you very much_—_of being wrapped around some bird's pretty little finger and turning into some pathetic, vomit-inducing mush at the sight of someone.

Besides, how did one go around _doing _that anyway? Finding only one_—only one!—_person beautiful and not letting themselves try out something_—_someone_—_new? It sounded ridiculous. Impossible. And anyway, he was sure most people faked all of it anyway.

Wandering eyes and bored expressions were proofs of that fact.

Girls were like gum; they started out sweet and juicy before soon enough, all that was left was the bland taste, becoming nothing more than a nuisance. And it was necessary to spit them out when that happened.

James Potter was a strong believer of the chewing gum theory.

"_Good morning, James, you handsome hunk,"_ The charmed clock on the cherry wood bedside table spoke up in all its usual high-pitched glory. _"Good morning, James, you handsome hunk. Good morning, James, you handsome hunk. Good morn—"_

"Oh, shut up already!" A tanned arm broke through the bundle of white sheets and blindly groped around for the offending object. "Every sodding morning," he grumbled, reluctantly peeping open a hazel eye to look for the relentless_—_and frankly _annoying—_alarm clock he'd charmed all of a year ago when he'd moved in with Sirius in the apartment.

"_Good—"_

"—riddance! Good riddance, for Merlin's sake!" James huffed as he finally got the voice to stop spouting off the same line. Hand still grappling the tabletop, he picked up his glasses and put them on before throwing off the covers and sitting up. A huge yawn escaped his lips at the same time that he ruffled his already messy jet black hair, making it_—_as he often said_—_look like sex hair.

"Padfoot!" He bellowed, knowing his voice would carry to the room across the hall. "Your turn for breakfast!"

"It's yours," came the sleepy, booming reply.

"Stop fibbing, you wanker! Hurry up, I need to get to practice!" James said frantically, eyeing the time on his alarm clock fearfully. Twenty minutes! He had twenty minutes to get his arse down to the Quidditch pitch! Charles was going to kill him!

"Noooo…too knackered! Long night, Prongs. Make it yourself!" Sirius replied as James hopped around on one foot, putting on his trousers quickly. Hearing the response, James swore under his breath, deciding that he did not have enough time to kill Sirius just then. He'd have to do that later.

Honestly, his best mate was such an arse, James thought as he rushed into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Pah! Too knackered! As if he was thick enough to fall for that. The only thing that could have made him 'knackered' was intense snogging with that blonde chick from the theater. Just because James hadn't snogged anyone _last _night didn't mean Sirius could pull that one on him.

And contrary to what Sirius's smug expression had suggested, it was _not _because there were no willing participants to make-out with him. It was just because…

…because _she _had been on his mind.

Again.

After so many days, Lily Evans had suddenly showed up again. All red hair, fiery eyes, feisty attitude, no-nonsense glares and of course, _beautiful _smiles. True, that particular aspect had not made an appearance last evening, what with flying popcorns and sparkling sodas, but James knew all too well that it was _there. _Just like he knew how unlikely it was to get her to direct it at _him. _

With a deep sigh, James shook his head, splashing some cold water onto his face before lifting his head to look at the mirror above the basin. Tired, frustrated hazel eyes stared back at him.

"Fuck," he swore softly, running a hand over his face.

Why the hell was this happening? This was _not _supposed to be happening.

The fact of the matter was that it really did take him some time to recognize Lily Evans last night. Well…no, it did not take time for him to _recognize _her per se_—_that was out of the question_—_but it took time for him to actually _believe _it was her. He had honestly believed that with that last train from Hogwarts, _that _chapter of his life had been closed for good.

But Christ, she was back. And _why _couldn't he bring himself to hate that fact?

James was past all that nonsense now. He _knew _that Hogwarts—it was—it was all nothing but a stupid school boy crush. A _pathetic, unrequited _crush. And it was nobody's fault but his really; he had never bothered to be clear about what he wanted. Hell, they hadn't even had a proper conversation in all of the seven years of education! In fact, the most they had said to each other outside of classes was probably a 'pass me the salt, please.'

And James didn't regret it, truly he didn't.

Lily Evans was—she was different. She stood up for what she believed in. She liked her life planned out. She was kind; almost too nice. She was forgiving. She was witty, clever, and intelligent. She was smart, and sometimes absolutely _devious. _She was _not _the one-night stand kind of girl.

And James Potter did not do different. _He _did the one-night stand kind of girl.

He fooled around and got sloshed. His life was _definitely _not planned. He craved spice, adventure, sex, surprises, and _danger!_ There were not many people who really, _truly _mattered to him, except his friends and family. James Potter was _not _in control of his life, and he bloody well liked it that way. But if there was one thing he did have control of, it was his feelings.

Feelings were—to be put in simple words—not good. _Definitely not good. _They messed things up, they were such a bitch, and more often than not, resulted in a heart break.

And James would have to be a right dolt to set himself up for another one.

So no, things with Lily—he couldn't…no, he _wouldn't _let his feelings get in between. Things were safe as long as he was in his comfort zone; teasing and ribbing and flirting. A Casanova he was, and a Casanova he planned on staying.

But this was where the _fucking problem _came in, wasn't it?

Teasing and flirting was all well and good, but James knew that if it worked_—_though Merlin knew how likely _that _was_—_he couldn't…he wouldn't do _that _with her. He just…couldn't. Lily Evans was not a ditzy bimbo who would gleefully hang off the arm of a Quidditch player just for a night. She wasn't like that. She wouldn't do that. And James wouldn't _want _her to do that either.

But why wouldn't he want her to do that? He asked himself. Why the fuck not?

Because he knew it'd be different—so bloody different. He knew that the _pathetic, unrequited _crush from Hogwarts would come back to bite him in the arse. It was true that he had gotten over her_—_had for quite some time now_—_but no, Lily Evans did not deserve that. She was _not _something he could just use and throw away. She was—hell, she was so much more than that.

She was not a chewing gum girl.

And James _knew _that. He knew that _so well!_

Then why the bloody hell was he still thinking about her!?

The love-struck fool was long gone, she had a bloody boyfriend to boot, _and _she absolutely despised him. Moreover, James was not about to complain about all of this. This was good; he didn't have time or room in his life for stupid things like…like _that. _They were a distraction and honestly, completely fake.

Lily Evans did not deserve fake. She did not deserve _him. _

Releasing a ragged sigh, James clenched his jaw in frustration. "Stop bloody thinking about her!" He gritted out, glaring at his reflection. "Stop it! You're probably never even gonna _see _her from now on, for Merlin's sake. Get a hold of yourself." He said firmly before taking a deep, calming breath.

With that thought in mind, James found himself relaxing once more. Yeah, there was the slight possibility that they _would _meet sometime in the future, but that was exactly what it was; a slight possibility. A very slight one. Really nothing to fret over. What would come would come and he already knew what to do if it did.

After all, he _did _spend—uh, how long? Four minutes? Five minutes?—thinking about all of that, right?

Spurred from that thought, James curiously lifted his hand to check the time on his leather band watch. Yes, he had spent fifteen minutes thinking about all of that, so it wasn't like he was unprepared. He knew how to keep his feelings in control_—_not that there were any, but it didn't hurt to—

_Fifteen minutes!?_

"Oh _shit!_" James swore loudly, kicking open the bathroom door and all but barreling out of his room. "Shit shit shit shit shit! Padfoot, I'm leaving!" He shouted, snatching his Nimbus 1001 from where it had been leaning against the fireplace.

"You do that, Prongs." Sirius's groggy voice replied from down the hall.

"Arsehole. Couldn't even make breakfast." James grumbled, miffed when he realized that he would have to survive the entire morning without food. And damn, practice always made him savage-like hungry. He just hoped Charles didn't kill him before lunch.

And as he turned on the spot and apparated with a resounding crack, James adamantly, _dutifully_ ignored the fact that he had yet again wasted his time thinking about Lily Evans.

As if last night hadn't been enough.

* * *

"Lils! Can you please get my sobering potion from the cabinet? I feel awful—oh crap! I think I'm going to be sick again."

As Marlene's brown curls bobbed out of view and into the loo, Lily sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head. "Third time," she muttered, nevertheless walking into her friend's room to fetch the sobering potion. The vial was kept inside a small hardwood cabinet along with some others like pepperup potion and the dreamless sleep potion. Dorcas, being a healer, had insisted that they have a supply of all the general remedies within reach if need be.

Said healer was at St. Mungo's at that moment; a sudden emergency call having prompted her to leave quite early in the morning. Marlene, on the other hand, had _returned _home quite early in the morning, and was conveniently taking a day off from work. And that left Lily alone at home to deal with Marlene's usual hangover sickness and headache groans.

"Marls, you okay in there?" Lily asked once she entered the dining room, placing the vial on the table. A grimace graced her features when she was greeted with a loud retching sound in response. "Honestly, you need to stop getting loaded so much. It's the same every time, but you still don't learn, do you? How is throwing up ever fun—"

"Oh shush, you boring old grandmum," Marlene admonished as she walked into the room. However, the effect was quite ruined when her voice was all scratchy and her eyes were red and watering. "Really, Lils, you ought to try it some time. A little bit of alcohol never killed—oh wait, it did!" she said, chuckling at her own joke.

Lily rolled her eyes when soon enough, the brunette stopped laughing, deciding that the vibrations were too much for her head to handle. With a groan, she dropped into a seat and buried her face into her arms.

"Okay, Marlene, I'd really love to stay all day and hear your hilarious jokes, but I need to get to work. Gary'll be right pissed if I don't." Lily sighed, dropping a hand on her friend's head and giving it a few soothing pats.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's okay. Just do me a favor, yeah? Give your boyfriend a nice kick in the arse from me." Marlene replied, popping an eye open to smirk cheekily at Lily.

"Marlene McKinnon, you—"

"Bye, Lily." She said loudly, waving once before dropping her head down on the table once more.

"Bye. And don't forget to take your potion," Lily reminded, shaking her head exasperatedly as she grabbed her purse and wand from the table before walking over to the fireplace. Clutching a handful of floo powder in her fist, she stepped inside the stone hearth.

"The Daily Prophet Office." She said, dropping the powder and letting the green flames envelop her immediately.

* * *

"Ah, 'morning Lily!" Cathy Wellborn greeted her when the redhead stepped out of the fireplace. The office was in its usual ruckus—flyers zooming above everyone's head, the non-stop chatter filling the air, sounds of scratching quills, turning of papers, and clicking of shoes and heels.

Lily _loved _her job.

"Good morning, Cathy," she said, a cheerful smile on her face as she stepped out of the fireplace, dusting off the soot from her grey pencil skirt. The black-haired, slightly chubby-looking girl with sea-green eyes in front of her grinned back jovially. Cathy was wearing a black formal shirt and tan trousers, her eyes sparkling happily as she raised an eyebrow at Lily.

"So, I heard _someone's _getting a new assignment." She elbowed Lily playfully on the side as the two made their way towards their desks. Cathy Wellborn worked as an assistant for Gary, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes when his back was turned. "And I know you're not supposed to know this, but I think Gary's planning a promotion for you."

"I know; I've heard," Lily's grin could not have been brighter.

"Luke?" Cathy guessed.

"Luke." She confirmed.

"Speaking of," Cathy started hesitantly, making Lily blink curiously at her, "It was your one-year anniversary yesterday, wasn't it? And Luke was attending that meeting Gary had set? Yeah, well, you might want to steer clear of Lip-gloss today; she's feeling particularly smug. The cow has some weird delusion that you are on the brink of break-up because Luke had to attend the meeting instead of your date."

Lily sighed tiredly. 'Lip-gloss' was the name that she and Cathy had come up with for the heavily perfumed blonde reporter, Sophia Reynolds, who had a not-very-inconspicuous eye on Luke since day one. She was probably the only one who proved to be a nuisance in Lily's perfect life. But still, Lily knew Luke, and she also knew that he only had eyes for her.

"Honestly, I don't have the patience for this. Thanks for the warning though, Cath. Now I better get my arse up to Gary's office. Knowing him, he's probably in a hissy fit about why I'm not massaging his legs already," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

Cathy laughed. "You do that, Lily. Though I think the leg massaging is more my job, but you're welcome to trade anytime," she winked. "Now go! And good luck."

"Thanks," Lily waved over her shoulder before walking over to the elevator.

"Oh! Hi, sweetheart."

Lily looked up into the smiling face of her boyfriend, who had just stepped out from the elevator. She was still recovering from his sudden appearance when Luke swooped down and pressed a gentle, completely chaste kiss on her lips. After realizing what was happening, Lily smiled against his lips and returned the kiss.

I was being so silly yesterday, Lily chastised herself. Life was still as perfect as it had been; a stupid evening could not ruin everything.

"Up to meet Gary?" Luke asked when they broke apart.

"Yes. He's in his office, right?"

"Yeah, I've just come from there. He's expecting you," Luke answered. "You better hurry up."

"Okay, see you later then," she said, pressing another kiss—a firmer one—on his lips before stepping into the elevator. She pressed the button for the third floor before giving a small wave at Luke.

"Oh, Lily, fix your hair. Your bun's coming loose," Luke just managed to say through the gap before the doors closed shut. Hearing that, Lily's hands immediately jumped up to her hairdo, which had indeed become loose from flooing in.

On normal occasions, Lily liked to let her hair loose; she figured letting it breathe without hairpins and rubber bands pulling it every which way was not such a bad idea. But this was office and there was a certain dress code to follow. Besides, Lily had a sneaking suspicion that her boyfriend liked it when she had her hair tied back. Not that Luke ever said anything about it of course, but he never missed an opportunity to compliment her hair when it wasn't loose and dangling around her face.

And honestly, what better motivation could a girl want.

"Hey, Gary, can I come in?" Lily knocked on the door, her bun once more immaculate after she had taken a quick trip to the loo and fixed it. The Editor in Chief had his door halfway opened, and Lily could make out a portion of his desk that was scattered with files and articles.

"Evans. Come in." A surly voice barked from inside. Lily, taking it positively that he had not promptly kicked her out, plastered a fake toothy grin on her face and pushed open the door. Never mind the fact that she didn't do anything to deserve getting sacked. But really, if she started considering all what she didn't deserve, Gary Wakefield would turn out to be quite an unfair man in conclusion.

Oh wait! He _was _unfair.

Her heels clicking on the hardwood floor, Lily entered the room which screamed 'PROFESSIONALISM' for miles. And there sat her boss behind the desk, hands clasped together and a permanent frown etched onto his brows. Gary was a stodgy man of forties with short-cropped brown hair and displeased grey eyes. His stocky figure along with a height that was almost shorter than Lily's 5'6" made a funny combination with his dominating personality.

But everyone in near vicinity knew that he was anything but funny.

"You're late." he immediately spat at her, his scowl deepening. Lily sighed heavily, her grin disappearing from her face within a second.

"I'm not," she said flatly. "I'm never late, Gary, you know that. You asked me to be here at 10:00, and now it's—" she consulted her watch, "—9:54. I don't know what you're complaining about."

"Well you're early then. Why are you early?" He threw back, his scowl not easing for even a millisecond.

"I—"

"Yeah, I don't wanna hear your excuses, Evans." Gary cut her off, and Lily just managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Now what are you waiting for? Sit. Or don't you want your assignment?"

"Oh no, that I want," Lily immediately acquiesced, sliding into a chair in front of the desk, knowing that that was probably the most polite invitation she would get to do so. "So what do I have to do? Cover corrupt Winzengamot members? Interview the minister? Another Unspeakable assignment? Or is it—"

"Quidditch. You have to cover a Quidditch player." Gary answered, waving away her inquiries impatiently. "There is a big match in a few days and everyone is trying to get their hands on juicy Quidditch news. So that'll be your assignment. You'll cover a player, and get interviews, latest gossip that fans feed on and the like. Is that clear?"

Lily visibly deflated in her seat. Quidditch? _Quidditch? _Honestly? She had expected something a bit more…well, intellectual. Even at Hogwarts, she had never been a huge fan of the sport—only going to a few matches at Marlene's insistence, and even _then _she had never been much of a screaming, die-hard worshipper or anything. In fact, the only thing that kept Lily in her seat throughout horrendously long matches was her house pride.

But well, she'd have to take what she got.

Quidditch or no Quidditch, she'd have to do this for her promotion.

"All right then, I'll do it. Who do I have to cover?" Lily asked, and just as the question left her mouth, endless possibilities began running through her mind.

She was sure—_almost_ sure, at any case—that the match was between the Appleby Arrows and the Puddlemere United. Lily had heard that the captain of the Arrows was one snobby bastard, and his seeker, Johnson Rivers, was not much better either. Well, she guessed the Puddlemere United captain, Charles Gibson, wouldn't be too bad. He was a year ahead of Lily at Hogwarts, and was head boy. He probably wouldn't be such a pain in the arse. And then there was also the chas—

No. No, no, no, no, absolutely _no. _

She was panicking for no reason. It wouldn't be him. It just wouldn't. There was no way it was—

"James Potter, chaser for the Puddlemere United," Gary finally answered, the words stunning Lily more effectively than any spell ever could. "You'll be covering him."

* * *

**To be continued…**

**AN – **Dun, dun, dun! Cliffhanger! Gotta love 'em. So, I know James's feelings for Lily not at all platonic or anything, but don't get too ahead of yourselves. He can be quite a stubborn arse at times—but we love him all the same. James is not ready to deal with serious feelings just yet, so you'll have to be patient and put up with his jerk-like ways. Anyway, how was the chapter guys? Reviews pleeeeaaaassse! I don't get enough of them! Thanks. Love all of you.

Claudia.


	4. New Assignment

**Perfecting Imperfection**

**New Assignment**

**Disclaimer ****– **Sadly, the only thing that belongs to me are the characters you don't recognize and the plot. Everything else is Queen Rowling's!

* * *

"Oh my god! Did you know about this!?"

Luke Jones started at the upset voice of his girlfriend as she slammed a bunch of files on his desk. A frown took over his face when his papers scattered away at the impact, leaving his organized desk decidedly _disorganized. _He hated it.

However, the frown quickly morphed into a concerned expression when he realized that it was _Lily. _She was barely ever upset in front of him; in fact, Luke didn't think he had _ever_ seen her staring off into space and glaring at something so menacingly. "What's wrong, honey?" he asked, quickly stacking up his wayward papers again, "Did I know about what?"

"This!" she repeated, nodding her head towards the files she had thrown on the table. With a frustrated huff, Lily collapsed onto a chair and tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "My assignment," she clarified at her boyfriend's blank look.

"Um, yeah, of course I knew about your assignment," Luke answered confusedly as he flipped through the thin black file on the top of the stack. There was nothing out of the ordinary—nothing out of the ordinary for _him. _"You knew about your assignment too. I told you," he added, the confused expression still etched onto his face.

"No you didn't! You didn't tell me what my assignment was! I didn't expect _this! _This is—it's—it's just cruel!" Lily cried out nonsensically, startling Luke. This was a new side of her, he admitted to himself. It seemed like Lily Evans was not all about smiles and sweet nothings, after all; she had quite the temper too. But despite his surprise—pleasant or not, he couldn't decide yet—Luke reached out a placed his hand on top of hers. Lily sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I just took out my frustration on you. It's just—I don't know what to do anymore. I really want this promotion, but now with this assignment, I just—I don't even know how to handle this!" she said indecisively, scowling at the file in front of her, as if the inanimate object were offending her personally.

Which, according to her, it _was._

"What?" Luke asked, suddenly looking scandalized, "You're going to drop this assignment?"

"I don't know!" Lily moaned, dropping her head into her hands.

"No, Lily, listen to me, why would you do that? What's so bad about the assignment? Last I talked to Gary, it was about covering some Quidditch player from the Puddlemere United," Luke said, flipping through the file once more to make sure the assignment had not been changed. No, it remained the same. So what was the problem? What could possibly be so horrible that it was making Lily_—_sweet, gentle, _perfect_ Lily—behave like this, Luke couldn't fathom.

"James Potter," Lily spat out the name as if it were a bitter taste on her tongue. Luke noticed, with bewilderment, that she suddenly became more—more _alive, _for the lack of a better word—and there was a definite fire burning in her green eyes as she took the Quidditch player's name. "I am supposed to be covering _him, _and how _glorious _he is."

"Uh," Luke was at a loss of words, completely confused as to from where this emotion in his girlfriend was coming from. And then it hit him!—or he _thought _it hit him. "Oh sweetheart, I know that this isn't what you expected it to be. I know that Quidditch is not your thing, and you may have been looking for something a bit more important, but all of that will come later. After your promotion, you won't have to worry about getting assignments you don't want, but until then, take what you can get," he said, feeling quite proud of his ability to handle the situation.

"Huh?" Lily took a moment out of her inward grumblings to stare at the man blankly. "What are you talking about, Luke?"

"About the fact that you don't want to do this assignment because you don't like Quidditch, of course."

"No, that's not what I—" Lily stopped short, chewing over her thoughts a bit. Should she really tell Luke about this? Merlin knew she had confused him enough with her sudden frustration and file slamming. Besides, she didn't need James Potter to come along and ruin the best thing she had going for her. No, that would mean she was giving him way too much importance than he deserved. With her final decision made, Lily sighed and looked up at her boyfriend again. He was gorgeous. What was wrong with her? Troubling him like that? "You're right. I guess I _am _quite bothered about having to cover Quidditch."

Not a complete lie, she told herself.

"Oh, don't worry, baby," Luke said, patting Lily's hand compassionately. She tried not to cringe; that particular endearment was just…too much. "It's just a matter of few weeks. Besides, you've worked so hard for this position. I know it might not be what you expected, but you can't let something like this ruin years of hard work. Complete the assignment, and prove to Gary what I already know—you deserve to be promoted," he smiled.

Lily raised her eyes from where they had been fixated on a spot on the desk to meet Luke's grey ones. He was right—of course he was. She was being stupid. So what if it was James fucking Potter she had to cover? Alright, so maybe the experience wouldn't be too pleasant—it would probably be nothing short of a nightmare if she was being truthful, but throwing away all her effort and potential because of an immature, pig-headed playboy was just idiotic. And Lily Evans was no idiot.

James Potter or no James Potter, she deserved this job and she was going to do everything to prove that she did.

So slowly, she let a grateful smile crawl into her face as she squeezed Luke's hand that had been resting on top of her own. She leaned across the desk to place a kiss on his lips, feeling the familiar sensation of tenderness filling her when he returned the gesture in his soft, perfect, Luke-ish way. After a few moments Lily pulled back with a sigh. "Thank you," she said, pecking his cheek as she stood up from her chair.

"So you're going to the practice?" Luke asked expectantly as Lily picked up the black file from the table.

"Yeah," she sighed, "Yeah, I am."

"Alright. And, uh, Lily?" he said, waiting until her green eyes were locked on his before continuing, "I'll pick you up at eight in the evening. I think I owe you an important date, right?" he smiled, watching as Lily grinned, instantly feeling better.

"Right." She agreed with a nod of her head. "And I am really sorry about before. I didn't mean to—you know, bite off your head like that." She added, biting her lip guiltily.

"It's okay, you were in a foul mood." Luke shrugged casually, even though, well, he had been _surprised _to say the least. Lily released her lip from between her teeth and sighed in relief. "Just remember what I said, and don't let things get to you, okay?"

"Yeah," Lily nodded, "Thanks," she said again.

"Good luck, honey!" Luke said, waving at his girlfriend as she left his cabin. She waved back before disappearing from view.

* * *

"Oh, blast! I'm really hungry," James muttered as he sat perched on top of his broom in mid-air. Just then, his stomach grumbled loudly, as if in complete agreement with his sentiments. With a sigh, he ran a hand through his wind-blown hair, impatiently checking his watch for the umpteenth time. It had been three hours since practice started, and he was absolutely _starving. _

"Oi, Potter! Pay attention to the game!" A voice suddenly barked. Snapped out of his self-piteous thoughts, James turned his head to find Charles glaring at him from across the pitch on his own broom. He sighed and nodded, deftly catching the quaffle that was thrown to him by another chaser, David Newman, before flying towards the goal posts with practiced ease.

Just like James had predicted, his captain hadn't been too pleased with his tardiness in the morning, and seemed to be glaring at him at every chance he got. It was all quite unnecessary, if you asked James. So what if he was a little bit late? It was just a onetime thing.

Well, not really.

But whatever. Technicalities.

"Okay, team, lunch break!" Charles called out a few minutes later. Almost everyone on the pitch gave a loud whoop of joy at his words, and within seconds, the players were mounting off their brooms, looking exhausted and sweat-laden. James himself could barely hold in his relief; finally food!

"Hey Potter, hold up!"

"Yes, Gibson?" James asked, barely managing to stop himself from groaning when Charles walked towards him, beater's bat in hand and broom propped over his shoulder. "Is there something wrong?" He hoped to god that this was not the time for fucking lectures on time management.

The captain curtly shook his head in response. "No, no problem. There is just something I need you to do for me. The Daily Prophet is sending a reporter, and she is going to get here by floo. I want you to go and receive her from there. Right now."

"Why me?" James folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. Did he _look _like someone who took orders outside of the pitch? If this reporter was all that important, Gibson could go and 'receive her' himself. Besides, the entrance fireplaces were two floors _below _the cafeteria. He wanted his lunch—was that really too much to ask for?

"Because she is going to be covering _you_ for the next few weeks. You know how the media is; they want Quidditch talk before the game with the Arrows—which we _have _to win, by the way—and you are the best chaser in the team, so it really shouldn't be surprising that a journalist is going to be trailing our practices now." Charles answered, shrugging casually.

"Oh sod it! What about my lunch!?" James finally burst out, unable to hold in his frustration any longer. "I didn't even have breakfast!"

"Well, that's too bad, Potter," Charles smirked, patting James's shoulder in a would-be comforting manner. "Because you should have thought of that _before _you showed up late to practice. Now get your arse down to the fireplaces; she could be here any moment now." With that said, the captain of the Puddlemere United sauntered into the building, towards the—James thought with no small amount of resentment—cafeteria.

After grumbling obscenities under his breath for a few minutes, James finally released a forlorn, long-suffering sigh, and trudged into the building. But instead of taking the stairs up to the cafeteria, much to James's chagrin, he made his way downstairs, trying to ignore his complaining stomach, and failing spectacularly. Once arriving at his destination, James leaned against the wall across the fireplace, glaring at the empty hearth contemptuously.

Oh boy, did he have a word or two to say to this reporter—whoever she was. What sort of a person intruded on a player's lunch time anyway? A thoughtless, inconsiderate, sadistic type of person, that's who.

Then again, it wouldn't be _too _bad if the reporter turned out to be hot, James thought with a smirk, suddenly feeling chipper. And incidentally, as soon as the thought entered his mind, the familiar green flames erupted in the fireplace in front of him.

Pushing himself off the wall, James ran a hand through his hair, waiting for the blazing light to die down so that he could see the passenger it brought. However, when his wishes were fulfilled, it was sufficed to say that any sort of charm, anger, frustration, or flirting he had in his mind was wiped clean with a swift kick to his guts. Or at least, it _felt _like a swift kick to his guts.

This had to be a joke, right? What the fuck was _she _doing here?

James watched her slender figure step out of the fireplace, a frown already adorning her face as she regarded him with displeasure. Even as she dusted off the soot from her skirt—the skirt that generously flaunted her _long _legs—and pushed locks of auburn strands behind her ears, not once did her emerald eyes lose their fiery gleam.

The bloody look _turned him on, _of all things. Fuck.

"Evans?" James finally found his voice, despite the shocked expression that still refused to leave his face. "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought—I mean, I was just waiting for—wait, _you _are the reporter? _You _are going to be covering me?" She'd better say no, 'cause otherwise he was screwed.

"Unfortunately." Lily answered with a grimace, taking a few steps towards him and fixing him with a glare. "But before you get any ideas, remember this, Potter—I am _not _going to stand here and tolerate your nonsense just because I have this assignment, where I am—for some _bizarre _reason—supposed to interview _you, _of all people."

"I—" James was dumbstruck. He had barely heard a word she'd said, as he had been too busy trying to get over his shock. Why the hell was this happening to him!? Among the hundreds of reporters who could've been assigned to accompany him around for the weeks before the match, it had to be _her? _What game was fate playing? It had been _just _that morning that he'd convinced himself that there would be no more Lily Evans—but what of it? Fate had taken his conviction, crumpled it up, chewed it thoroughly and spat it out again.

"Er, what would be the right thing to say right now?" He finally asked, running a hand through his mop of messy hair as he realized that Lily was still glaring daggers at him. If this was how it was going to be from now on, then he was going to play it by _his _rules, just like he'd decided that morning. Evans did not like the annoying, flirting, smug James Potter?

Then that's _exactly _what she'd get.

"You are impossible to deal with," she snapped, shaking her head in disbelief. What had she done to deserve this again? "I don't know how I'm going to survive this. You are so—"

"Handsome? Smart? Talented?" James supplied with a smirk.

"Incorrigible!" Lily scowled darkly. "If I wasn't forced to be here, I wouldn't want to touch you with a ten-foot pole, Potter. So don't try my patience because I don't fancy going to Azkaban just yet. Is that clear?" she asked, waiting with an impatient frown etched upon her face.

"Crystal."

"Good," Lily nodded, deciding that that was as good as it was gonna get. "Now if you don't mind, Potter, I'd like to get started on my work. And as much as I'd love to stand here and have _all _sorts of intellectual conversations with you, I'd be ever so grateful if we could get out of here." She said with an expectant look on her face.

"Okay then, Evans. Your place or mine?" James threw back, loving the way her face turned a ten shades darker red. It was hot.

"You arsehole!" Lily sputtered with a horrified look. "That's not what I meant! Do you _ever _think of anything other than sex, Potter?"

"Whoa there! Now let's not get too ahead of ourselves here; I never mentioned anything about sex. You just made an assumption. However," he suddenly lowered his voice, taking a few steps forward and leaning down so that his face was level with Lily's. "I'm all for that idea if you're interested." James winked with a smirk, enjoying the fire in her eyes way too much.

Lily jerked away from him as if he were Satan himself—he _was, _according to her. "Listen, you—" she started, only to be cut off a moment later.

"Oi! Potter! What's taking so long?" David Newman, Lily recognized, bellowed as he descended the stairs. She watched as the chaser's eyes darted from Potter to her, and then back to him. "Girlfriend?" He finally asked with a raised eyebrow, much to her mortification.

"WHAT?" Lily shrieked before James could even open his mouth to answer. "Me? _His _girlfriend? Please!" she scoffed, looking disgusted at the idea.

"She's just a reporter," James answered calmly, trying to ignore the painful feeling in his gut at her words. "Evans is going to be covering me for the match with the Arrows. You know, gossips, interviews, _fawning, _the like," he added, looking pointedly at the redhead and leering. His expression turned smug when he noticed her fists balling up and nostrils practically flaring in anger.

"James. Practice." David spoke up again, his voice decidedly squeakier than it had been as he eyed the reporter fearfully. She looked about ready to tear James's head apart from his body, which unbeknownst to him, was indeed one of the best fantasies running through her head at the moment.

"Shall we?" James asked, mockingly bowing and gesturing Lily to go ahead. There were quite a few things Lily would've liked to say to the airhead in front of her right then, but the inappropriateness of all those comments stopped her from doing so. Barely. Instead, she settled on—if possible—an even angrier glare as she walked past him.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go!" She barked at David, unable to keep her temper in check. James couldn't stop an amused grin from lifting his lips as he watched the six-foot tall chaser recoil in fear from the petite woman, as if expecting her to spit fire any second now.

"Wh-what about J-James?" David asked, shakily pointing his finger behind him to indicate the messy-haired man, his eyes never leaving the girl in front of him.

"Oh don't worry about him," Lily replied, though it became clear who she was taking to when she glanced at James from the corner of her eyes. "He won't be able to stay away for long, and _not _show-off. It comes naturally to him."

James silently raised an eyebrow, unable to break his gaze away from her. His hazel eyes bore into Lily's green ones, suddenly making her feel uncomfortable. "Right. Let's go then." She cleared her throat, finally shifting her stare to look expectantly at David, who still felt quite queasy about the situation.

However, when James gave him an almost imperceptible nod of his head to indicate a 'go ahead, I'll be right there,' the man all but bolted out of the room, Lily keeping up with his long strides with quick movements. She didn't think she could survive another second down there with James Potter without doing something she'd regret.

Going to Azkaban fell in that category.

As the pair exited the room, and their footsteps echoed off the stairs, James released a tired sigh and ran his hand through his hair. It had only been about fifteen minutes in her presence, and James already felt drained. Did Charles say she was going to be around for _weeks? _Merlin only knew how long he'd be able last before he lost his senses. With a final resigned shake of his head, James made his up the stairs, ready—or as ready as he could be—to face the she devil.

And for fuck's sake, he wanted _food._

* * *

**To be continued…**

**AN – **This was the longest I've ever taken, and probably will ever take, to update a chapter. Oh god, I'm sorry, but even then I don't think I could've updated any faster if I'd tried. Life is being plain CRUEL to me right now. My legs are killing me because of the inhumane amount of exercises we're doing at school, there's a scary research paper due for history. I'm going ballistic. Add to that the fact that the writer's block was an absolute bitch this time—I wrote 200 words and erased 300 every evening—and you'll understand my suffering. Nevertheless, after much pain and agony, I managed to get this chapter done. Please leave me some reviews in this dark, lonesome life of mine. Love you as always.

Claudia.


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